Hassan Whiteside #21 of the Miami Heat drives to the basket during a preseason game against the Philadelphia 76ers at American Airlines Arena on October 21, 2016 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)

MIAMI — The external expectations for the Heat are low this season. But the internal expectations are still high.

“Our expectations with the Heat never change,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “That’s what makes us who we are. We’re stubborn in our belief about those expectations and we feel like this group has a big ceiling.”

Even after an offseason of change that included the loss of 12-time All-Star Dwyane Wade and another setback for 11-time All-Star Chris Bosh, the Heat believe they can be a competitive team. But with seven new faces on the 15-man roster and just two starters returning, there’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Heat entering Wednesday’s season opener against the Magic in Orlando (7 p.m., Fox Sports Sun).

It’s one of the reasons sports books don’t expect much from the Miami. According to Sports Betting Dime, the Heat have the third-worst odds of winning the Eastern Conference at 200/1 and are expected to suffer the biggest regression in wins from last season when they finished 48-34.

“I’m not even paying attention to those kinds of things,” point guard Goran Dragic said of the Las Vegas odds. “Every year somebody is projecting some numbers, but I think we can take this number as motivation to show them that they’re wrong.”

If the Heat are going to exceed external expectations this season, Dragic is going to have to play a big part in the team’s success. Center Hassan Whiteside and Dragic are the only two starters returning from last year’s roster.

But Whiteside and Dragic will have some help. Miami brings back a young nucleus that includes 20-year-old Justise Winslow, 23-year-old Josh Richardson and 24-year-old Tyler Johnson.

“We have some key guys coming back,” Spoelstra said. “I think a lot of people are focusing on who has left and who is not here. But we were able to bring back a very talented young core of players that we think fit the Miami Heat fabric.”

The only problem is that Miami doesn’t have the star power it once did when Wade was leading the organization or the Big Three was dominating the NBA. The only player on the Heat’s current roster who has been an NBA All-Star is Bosh and he’s expected to be away from the team this season as he deals with ongoing blood clot issues.

“Of course, it’s rebuilding for us,” Dragic said. “But that doesn’t mean nothing. We still can have a successful season as long as we’re on the same page. We have a lot of young talent and we can run all day. Hopefully we can prove that on the court.”

“We’re not re-tweaking or retooling, but we’re rebuilding to win now,” Riley said. “We expect to put a very competitive, high energy, very athletic team on the court. Coach believes in speed primarily and quickness and shooting. I think he has an abundance of that, whether or not all the parts fit together.”

There are a lot of different parts that Spoelstra must fit together.

Can a backcourt of Dion Waiters and Dragic work? Is Derrick Williams a reliable starting power forward? How many minutes should Luke Babbitt and James Johnson get each game? Will Whiteside live up to his new max contract?

There are a lot of questions that need to be answered over the next 82 games. But the Heat are confident the answers will produce a successful season.

“I’m probably curious as much as everybody else about this team and how we can put it together,” Spoelstra said. “That’s our job to figure it out.”